Valve construction



June 24, 1952 R, M, WlTT 2,601,578

VALVE CONSTRUCTION Filed 001'.. 6, 1945 2 SHEETSSHEET l INVENTOR.

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@ ATTORNEY June 24, 1952 R. M. WIT'l VALVE CONSTRUCTION 2 SHEETS-: SHEET 2 Filed 00T.. 6, 1945 TTNEY www Patented June 24, 1952 'Richard with San Francisco, vCalif., assigner, shy mesne assignments, to .'M .& .'J Engineering 1Go., '.enertnership Anmeldungen@ 6, weisen@ No. 629,171

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erna-immerzu rennes generare n valves er the typenrovidedwiih a diaphragm-fer eperetfm of; :the same.

n 'many inclllstrial applieation :it vis fcolnmon lto use diaphragm or .motor operated valves fior controlling .110W of :various 'duide "Generell-urine control' of such valvesjis from aremotefpoingt rrlrragwbe either ,automatic as xl:5,v1nieans fof a tem- 'peinture responsive .devieeor like nistrment, -or manualiy as by means of -a rmanuaily 'ovvperetted niiet valve. jin any .event Yfit-is customary to load the diaphragm '0.11 the movable-valve ifby means of@ loading :s pring, with pneumaticjpressure beingappliedfto {tlie diaphragm itoniove*the saine between j1limitingpositions Lcorrespending to open andelos-ed 'positions of Athe valve ber, lFor '.1.elatively` accurate control of' the rvalve :member a pneumatic Iwaive positioner iis Pused in conjunction with the qcmtrol instrument. vwhereby the` .val-ve .member is vpasitioneci in a predetermined manner as determined :by #control -ya-ria- When -using motor valves with pneumatic vveentrol systems as. `described .above'fa failure lofnair supply to :the pneumatic control systemfresults in movement of the valve member Ito juli 4open position aunder :the .action of 'the .loading spring. In order to enable emergency closing of the valve under such conditions, it is customary 'to provide a 'iacldng means ,on-the nvalve stem `which can -be Operated manual-ly to oppose .and Compress #the loading yspring to move the fyalve member "to closed or `to a desired intermediate jposition, Such #jacking `devices are diflicult 1to operate,pai`- ticularly because ggtheymust be 'constructed and Uperet'ed-finfsueh a marmer es `to .oppose the reletively heavy -forcesof lthe loading spring. ;In addition *their ldesign has 'been that they operated upon an exposed portion of the valve rod extending. from the .va1ve"bodyvv, -to the -mounting ,of :the diaphragm. ',In .addition 5to Athese disadvantages Isuch an Iarrangement=invo1vesmeve ment Aoi the\alve member to [a limiting gposition Upon -failure of the air ;sup ply. whereas iin `nuatny instancesit wouldlbe-.preferablelto 'havefthe valve member vrei-nain in the position whichit occupied at lthe time of "the Aair failure.

-Itis van object -gf the present invention vto pro vide a vnew diaphragm yoperated valve 'iiiaving novel ymeans fformanually jacking the' .same towardfonelimiting position of fthevalve member.

.-A further -obj ect of vthe d inventien is to provide aniaphragmoperated-ivalve havingmovel flocking means @which :lis operated 'uponifailurefof the -air Y supply o `flock the -va'lve member in the position which 4fitoccupied atri-he ftimeof #failure Afurther object of the -nventionistolprovide a valve of the :above character which 'avoids application of ia-cking --means to an exposedportion -of the valve rod.

` Another object isto provide means for 'flocking the valve :in a,position which it occupied -at-the time of failure of the air supply, with further provision for manual Icontrolled movement from -siich position whenfit =is desired @to operi or'lclose the valve after such failure.

Additional objects Iand lfeatures of `the invention will be ldisclosed `irr-the following description in which the preferrediembodimentoi :theinvention has been-set forth L-inudetail in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

'Referring V:to the drawing:

#Figure `1 is a -side elevational view, =partly in ycross section, 'illustrating #apparatus vineer-point ing vthe present invention.

"fFigure vr2 is @a detail #illustrating the packing gland fand :clamping mean-s lfor the same-.incorporatedinfthe-apparatus of Figure 1.

'Figure T3ds anLenla-rged detail fin section illus..- trating particularly .the -means 4fior `jacking the operating rod -of the valve.

Figure/4 is anenlarged cross sectional'detairl taken along the-:line 4f-.4 of fI-igure '3.

*The embodiment :of fthe valve villustrated :consists :generally Jof the ybody :Hl provided 4with :the inflow and Aoutflow fpassages H and 14:2. The mainportion Ima-of #the-body Iis provided .withfa flange t3 :surrounding l'the .inflow :passage lil lfor coupling -to the piping .'M. :Also the body part `ljlafflias'a flange Hi :for coupling .wi-th/alange yil?! andathe'bodvpart wb. F."Iihise-.body part can `,be connected with-outflow-.piping flias bymeanslo'f Weld connection 19.

AAn vannular vseat v:ring is disposed `:wi-thin the body =and filas .ra Alange F22 clamped fbetwe'en ytlile coupling `flanges rill, slfl. iiihisseating :slee-vie fis engaged by Athe valve member .l2-'3, --which :is attached to the inner end of a valve operating stem 214. .A {suite-ble :head :or :bonnet .'26 is Y.attached :to the :body .Dart xirz, and is ibored to :receive the stein While pin -somen-stances ithe 1bon-net may 'be `:secured to :the `.body 'la by fmeans such .as fa threadedconnection weld connection, or imade :integral if-therewi-th, Gin @this instance the bonnet 'is .detachable :and is :provided with Aan inner ienlarged :portion 22?? which engages and seals. upon an :annularshoulder "8 :donned within thelbody. A"li-he.fbonnet:.25 lis provided withpackingil tofsealiabout the .stem .124 andz'lthisfpacking is v"compressed .by .follower 29 which in *turn yengaged by the f'follower clarnprbarli. AIlhe'ends of this'ba1-are1fengaged by :the-bolts 32 -whiehere The diaphragm assembly employed can consist. of the sheet 38h of flexible material such as rubber or impregnated fabric, in conjunction with a circularly contoured diaphragm plate 38m-"38de The mounting means for this diaphragm asse'mbly includes the upper and lower` dished parts 39,

4| having peripheral annular flanges 42, 43 be-..

tween which the peripheral margin of the diaphragm 38h is clamped The proportioning is such that the diaphragm assembly provides an annular flexible portion 38e between -the` diaphragm plates and the flanges 42, 43.l A

Theilower part 4I of the diaphragm mounting is secured, as by means of screws 44, to the flanged end 46 of the sleeve 36. Suitable-means such as the sealing ring 41 is provided to seal betweenthese parts.

To provide manually operated means for jacking the valve stem in a direction outwardly with respect to the valve body, that is toward full open position, a vhand wheel 48 is provided, which has a hub 49 threaded upon the sleeve 36. The'outer face of hub 49 is recessed to receive a ball bearing assembly 5|, the upper face oi which forms a platform or abutment for engaging the lower ends of the thrust rods 52. The enlarged end portion 46 of sleeve 36 is provided with circumferentially spaced drilled openings 53, to accommodate the thrust rods 52.

The thrustv rods are arranged parallel to each other and to stem portion 24a, and they are equally spaced apart in a circumferential direction about the axis of the valve stem. While the number of these rods may vary three have 4 movement of the the valve stem towards closed position.

Means are provided for visually indicating the position of the valve rod and the main valve member. Thus the valve rod carries a disc 60, and edge of which is adjacent a vertical graduated strip68a: f

In operating the apparatus described above it is desirable to apply a substantially constant air or gas pressure to the space 6| above the diaphragm and to apply various pressures to the space 62 below the diaphragm in order to thereby move the-diaphragm to various operat- 'ing-'positions'. In Figure 1 passages 63 and 64 are'shown connected with the spaces 6| and 62 and leadto other elements of a pneumatic control system. Thus in this instance the pneumatic control system includes the air supply pipe 66, pressure reducing valve 61, valve positioner 68 and instrument control` 69. `The pressure reducing, regulator 61 serves to supply air to pipe line 63 at a desired regulated pressure tof provide a desired loading force upon the diaphragm. :Pipe 66 also-supplies air tothe valve'positioner 68 and `this positioner is connected to the pipe line 64 leading to the chamber 62-below, the diaphragm. The positioner 68 also has a pneumatic connection with the instrument control device 69, which in a typical instance may be a temperature `responsive device adapted to vent varying amounts of air dependent upon the temperature of an object or heat receiving zone. .Valve positioner 6|!` may vary in construction but may for example correspond been shown in the drawing. The remote or outer ends of rods 52 are adapted to be in abutting engagement with the adjacent ace'of the diaphragm plate 38d. Suitable means is provided for sealing about the thrust rods 52. as for example the provision of recesses to receive the 0 rings `54. Theportions of rods 52 adjacent the hand wheel, which would otherwise be exposed, are preferably protected by means of the tubular shroud 50, which is carried by the hand wheel hub 49. This shroud is slidable with respect to the cylindrical portion 46 of the sleeve 36. It will be evident that upon turning the hand wheel 48 in a direction to traverse the same toward the diaphragm mounting, rods 52 contact and move the diaphragm assembly to thereby move the valve stem toward limiting open position.

To provide means for automatically locking the valve stem in a given operating position, that end'of the stem adjacent the diaphragm assembly is provided with a cylindrical enlargement 24h. This portion acts as a piston and is fitted Within a cylindrical bore 56 in the sleeve portion 46. Leakage about portion 24h is prevented by suitable means such as the rubber O ring packing 55. The closed space 51 at one end of the piston is normally lled with liquid such as oil, and is in communication with a pipe 58 through space 59. Assuming that iiow of liquid through pipe 58' is interrupted the remaining trapped liquid in space 5,1 prevents to the valvepositioner disclosed in Patent No. 2,312,301, and isprovided with a suitable mechanical motion transmitting connection to either the valve rod or the diaphragm.

.In addition to the parts of the pneumatic control system described above itis desirableto provide a pneumatically operated locking valve 1| which has a pipe connection 12 to the pneumatic supply pipe 66, andalso a connection to the pipe line 58. YDevice 1I can be formedsubstantially as illustrated and consists in this instanceof a valve body 13 provided with an oil reservoir 14. There is also a valve seat 16 with which the movable valve member 11 cooperates.v Compression spring 18 urges the valve member towards closed position. .The .valve stem 19 is operatively connected tothe flexible diaphragm 8|. The space 82 above this diaphragm is in communication with pipe line 12 leading to the air supply pipe 66. The space the time of an air supply failure.

,' below the valve member 11 is in communication the diaphragm -drops suliciently to causeffvalve 11 to close under the urge of spring 18, and as a result oil in space 51 is trapped to thereby locK the valve stem against movement towards closed position. In other words the main valve is lockedin substantially the position which it occupied at Thereafter if one desires to permit movement of the main valve to closed position, by-pass valve 86 is opened to permit ow of the trapped oil into the reservoir 'I4 with the result that residual pressure in space 6I and/or inflow pressure acting upon the valve -member 23, forces the main valve member to closed position. Assuming however that it is desired to move the main valve member towards open position, hand wheel 48 is operated to move thrust rods 52 upwardly whereby the diaphragm assembly is moved upwardly to translate the valve member to its desired adjusted position. While so adjusting the position of the main valve member it is desirable to open the by-pass valve B6 to permit flow of oil from the reservoir 14 into the space 5l.

I claim:

1. In fluid pressure operated apparatus, valve means comprising a valve body and a valve member Within the body movable in opposite directions between open and closed positions, a valve rod attached tc the valve member and extending to the exterior of the body, and a uid pressure operated diaphragm having an operative connection with the exterior end of the valve rod, mounting means for said diaphragm including means forming gas chambers upon opposite sides of the diaphragm, that chamber remote from the valve body being adapted to receive a substantially constant gas pressure to provide a substantially constant loading force upon the diaphragm, the other chamber being adapted to receive gas at varying pressures to thereby cause movement oi' the diaphragm with consequent corresponding movement of the valve rod and valve member, mechanical means interposed between the diaphragm mounting and the valve member for moving the diaphragm in a direction away from the valve member, and hydraulic means operative to lock movement of the valve rod in a direction towards the valve body.

2. In fluid pressure operated apparatus as in claim 1 in which said hydraulic locking means is operative responsive to a failure of the gas supply to said chambers.

3. In a fluid pressure operated valve of the type including a valve member attached to one end of a valve rod and operating within a Valve body, the other end of the rod being attached to a Iluid pressure operated diaphragm which is housed within a diaphragm mounting, the mounting being connected to the valve body by a tubular member which encloses the valve rod; the combination with said valve of a manually operable member disposed between the diaphragm mounting and the valve body and rotatable about an axis concentric with the axis oi the valve operating rod, and means including elements extending from said manually operable member into said diaphragm mounting and serving to apply mechanical thrust to the diaphragm upon turning said manually operable member in one direction.

4. In a fluid pressure operated valve of the type including a valve member attached to one end of a valve rod and operating within a valve body, the other end of the rod being attached to a fluid operated diaphragm which is housed within a diaphragm mounting, the mounting being connected to the valve body by a tubular member which encloses the Valve rod, the mounting forming a fluid chamber adapted to receive varying iluid pressures and located on that side of the diaphragm faced toward the valve body; the combination with such Valve of a manually operable member rotatable about an axis aligned with the axis of the valve rod, a threaded engagement between said rotatable member and the tubular member, and thrust transmitting members interposed between said manually operable member yand the adjacent side of the diaphragm, said last named members extending into said fluid chamber and serving to transmit motion to the diaphragm and the valve rod upon turning said manually operable member in one direction.

RICHARD M. WITT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 623,934 Wilson Apr. 25, 1899 1,204,687 Roder- Nov. 14, 1916` 1,888,392 Penick Nov. 22, 1932 2,277,075 Dahl Mar. 24, 1942 2,339,469 Emanuel Jan. 18, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date `251,392 Great Britain of 1926 450,190 Great Britain of 1935 

